This paper examines the intertwined history of East Asia from the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) through the Cold War era and into the present day. It traces how Japan's defeat in World War II reshaped political boundaries in China and Korea, how the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union played out across Asia, and how ideological conflict shaped American foreign policy decisions from Korea to Vietnam. The paper also considers the current state of Sino-Japanese relations, arguing that despite lingering historical suspicions, both nations have taken meaningful steps toward a more positive bilateral relationship.
Japanese and Chinese forces battled each other from 1937 to 1945 to gain control of the Chinese mainland. Communist China defeated Nationalist Japan, and this outcome gave rise to a number of further conflicts.
The United States entered the Second Sino-Japanese War after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, at which point China also declared war on Germany and Italy, marking the full expansion of World War II into the Pacific theater. China was aided by the United States and Britain, which provided substantial loans and military supplies and established air bases on Chinese soil. With this support, China was ultimately able to overpower the Japanese forces ("Sino-Japanese War, Second").
The Cold War refers to the sustained ideological conflict between the Soviet Union-led communist nations and the United States-led democratic nations. Countries around the world participated in this conflict through propaganda, economic disputes, diplomatic negotiations, and occasional armed confrontations. Although the United States and the USSR had been allies during World War II, tensions between them predated the war, and those differences intensified sharply once the war ended. Former allies quickly became adversaries (Chung).
After Europe, Asia became the second major arena in which the Cold War exerted its most significant influence. Europe held primary strategic importance for both superpowers. The United States dominated Western Europe, while the USSR held sway over Eastern Europe. The continent of Asia was initially of lesser concern to both competitors; however, approximately six million soldiers and civilians lost their lives in conflicts in Korea and Indochina as a direct result of Cold War rivalries. The Cold War extended its reach across the globe in June 1950, when the Korean War began — the first conflict in which American and Soviet forces confronted each other directly (McMahon 35).
At its core, both superpowers sought to eliminate the other's ideology. The USSR maintained that conflict between communism and capitalism was inevitable, while the United States held firmly that lasting peace could only be achieved through the defeat of communism (Mason 71). In the early phase of the Cold War, America's staunchly anti-communist stance became apparent to the world. The United States government interpreted the Czech coup (1948), the Berlin Blockade (1948–49), China's fall to the Communists (1949), and the Korean War (1950–53) as components of a coordinated global Soviet conspiracy.
The US government also believed that China controlled Vietnam and was itself controlled by Russia — a conviction that contributed to America's prolonged involvement in the Vietnam War. During that conflict, a border clash erupted between China and Russia. The United States capitalized on this rift by opening diplomatic dialogue with the Chinese government. These events helped bring about a notable triangular diplomacy among China, the USA, and the USSR throughout the 1970s (Mason 72).
During the 1980s, the most transformative changes occurred not in the United States but in the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev, the reform-minded Soviet leader, refused to perpetuate hostility toward the West and called for an end to the Cold War. By taking the initiative, he effectively neutralized the American containment policy. His efforts catalyzed a series of events in 1989 that fundamentally altered the Cold War's trajectory. It can fairly be said that the Cold War both began and ended in Eastern Europe, concluding with the withdrawal of Russian military forces from that region (Mason 73).
China's defeat of Japan at the end of World War II in 1945 did not bring stability. Instead, the Nationalist and Communist forces turned on each other in a struggle for control of China. In 1949, the Communists prevailed, and the Nationalists retreated from the mainland to establish a rival government on the island of Taiwan. Those rival governments persist to this day as the People's Republic of China on the mainland and the Republic of China on Taiwan ("Imperialism, War, and Revolution in East Asia").
"China's civil war and Korea's division"
"Cautious but improving China-Japan relations"
Mason, John W. The Cold War, 1945–1991. New York: Routledge, 1996. Questia. Web. 4 Dec. 2011.
McMahon, Robert. The Cold War: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. Questia. Web. 4 Dec. 2011.
"Sino-Japanese War, Second." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2009. Questia. Web. 4 Dec. 2011.
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